Teensy-Arduino Cross-over (Adapter) Board

Note: this page serves as a technical reference for Teensy-Arduino Cross-over (TAX) board.

What is it?

The TAX or Teensy-Arduino Cross-over (X) board is an Arduino-style prototyping board containing the Teensy 3.1 micro-controller, together with some nice extras. It brings the powerful features of the Teensy together with the form factor of the Arduino Uno, resulting in a board which you can program through the familiar Arduino IDE and which is compatible with all your Arduino shields.

TAX running the Ethernet sketch with an Arduino Ethernet shield

Specifications

Key features

Fully compatible with Arduino IDE (requires Teensy application)

Fully compatible with all official Arduino shields and nearly all other shields

TAX header

Where you would normally have the Atmega 16U2 ICSP header on a regular Arduino Uno board, this has been replaced with a TAX header (or rather: a socket) on this board. The TAX header provides access to the following features:

Analog out

Analog input 10 (for simultaneously sampling two analog inputs)

Battery input for RTC

3.3V power output

Ground

Reset

4 TAX prototypes

Why this board?

As you can see, the amount of I/O offered by the Teensy 3.1 vastly outnumbers that of the TAX. So why even bother with this board?

Truth is, I don’t want TAX to be a competitor to the Teensy. Rather, I want it to be an augmentation to the Teensy, providing some new features while omitting some others. The main goal is to make it possible to (re)use all the existing Arduino shields while still enjoying the power of the MK20 micro controller and the familiarity of the Arduino IDE and language.

In addition, there are some other features stemming mainly from my own personal needs such as a powerful and noise-free 3.3V line, buffered analog inputs for accurate high speed sampling, easy access to the UART, a more durable USB connector and multiple ways to provide power to the board.

When?

TAX is currently in prototype production, and it will go into limited production runs when I receive at least 50 expressions of interest. You can leave yours in the comment section. Be sure to leave a reply address so I can contact you with updates!

How much?

Ah yes, the one thing on everyone’s mind: the price. While it’s hard to predict an definite price at this stage, I’m aiming to position it at the same price level of a regular Arduino Uno. The more interest, the better it will be to achieve or even surpass this goal.